Monthly Archives: September 2012
Unions: Friend or Foe to the Black Community
By: Takia Hollowell
Many individuals think of unions as a great income equalizer for blacks and one of the greatest allies against “systematic” racial discrimination. Too often, proponents of this perspective have only been exposed to one side of the story. I challenge the premise of those proponents from both a historical and economical standpoint.
RACIST HISTORY OF UNIONS – KEEP BLACKS OUT!
The racist roots of unions is a story not often told. Anyone looking for Fox News quotes will not find them here. The historical aspect will be told mostly through the eyes of historical black activists.
Though slavery was an ugly blot of American history, it bore an unintended consequence that some whites were not prepared to deal with upon emancipation.
Booker T. Washington notes:
“On these [slavery] plantations young colored men and women were constantly being trained not only as farmers but as carpenters, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, brick masons, engineers, cooks, laundresses-sewing and housekeeping.” (The Negro Problem, Chapter 1)
The story continues…..
“In the skilled trades, at the close of the War of the Rebellion, most of the work was done by Negroes educated as artisans in the hard school of slavery, but there has been a steady decline in the number of such laborers, not because of lack of skill but because trade unionism has gradually taken possession of such employments in the South, and will not allow the Negro to work alongside of the white man. And this is the rule of trade unions in ALL parts of the country. It is to be hoped that there may be a gradual broadening of the views of white laborers in this vital matter and a change of attitude by the trade unions that they dominate.” (The Negro Problem: Chapter 7)
T. Thomas Fortune, Former slave and accomplished Journalist
It was the former slaves that possessed the coveted skill sets of the Industrial Age capitalists which enabled them to obtain employment faster than their unskilled counterparts. As white workers feared the growth of competition from emancipated slaves, many unions were formed to keep blacks out of several professions.
The market could not remain free. It HAD to be regulated. This is precisely why UMW President John Mitchell stated in 1903 that, “The trade union movement in this country can only make progress by identifying with the State.” (Mitchell, J. (1903) Organized Labor: Its Problems, Purposes and Ideals and the Present and Future of American Wage Earners. )
Enabled by both the federal and state government, unions obtained legal power to discriminate against blacks. For example, Lester Granger of the National Urban League referred to the National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) as “the worst piece of legislation passed by Congress.” The NAACP also referred to it as “fraught with danger to Negro labor.” (Moreno, P. , Black Americans and Organized Labor: A New History. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.) Additionally, the pro-union Davis Bacon Act was blatantly and open created for the express purpose of suppressing black labor.
Frederick Douglass drafted an editorial titled, “The Folly, Tyranny and Wickedness of Labor Unions” in 1874. In this writing Douglass gives his account of the racism he experienced against a caulkers union.
Even Marcus Garvey referred to them as “white unions” as he wrote:
“If I must advise the Negro workingman and laborer, I should warn him against the present brand of Communism or Workers’ Partizanship as taught in America, and to be careful of the traps and pitfalls of white trade unionism, in affiliation with the American Federation of white workers or laborers. It seems strange and a paradox, but the only convenient friend the Negro worker or laborer has, in America, at the present time, is the white CAPITALIST.”
He continued on:
”I am of the opinion that the group of whites from whom Communists are made, in America, as well as trade unionists and members of the Worker’s party, is more dangerous to the Negro’s welfare than any other group at present.”
PRESENT DAY
Though organized labor proponents boast that millions of blacks are employed within their ranks, the economic consequences are not fully expounded upon. While it is true that some blacks have benefited from unions, it comes at the expense of high unemployment for many in the urban community. How so? As union leaders push for artificially higher wages, it causes the price of labor to increase – causing the employer to hire less workers. Labor, as any other commodity, is subject to the law of supply and demand and will greatly reduce as its price (wage) increases. In layman’s terms, more jobs would be available for others to apply for.
Milton Friedman explains it best here:
And for my leftist readers screaming, “Right Wing Racism” from Milton Friedman, please take note the this is no new economic law. I will close with the words of French economist Frederic Bastiat as he spoke on this very economic principle in 1848. He was neither Democrat or Republican.
“But if, duped by that false philosophy…. they take to remunerating (compensating) labour largely, far from doing good, they will do harm. They will give double wages, it may be. But then, forty-five men will be better provided for, whilst forty-five others will come to augment (increase) the number of those who are sinking into the grave.”
Originally posted at www.kiradavis.net
25yrs and Time Stands Still For No Man nor Agenda!
25yrs and what a difference it has made on how one public entity presents itself to the public. The demands are very similar as well as a slight similarity in the actions of the mayors of each respective time frame. I’m speaking of course of the Chicago Public Schools Teacher’s strike, in1987 the teachers took to the streets for a little over 4 weeks, what little bit of images I could find of the strike at that time, besides major fashion differences (boy were the late 80′s fashions interesting) but the style of picketing was vastly different than that of today’s style of protesting!
I have included some photos and a video on the matter, one thing I do want to point out is the significant color of red and black in this 2012 teachers strike. I am even going to go out on a limb and state, perhaps maybe even some of the teachers and their supporters do not realize the significance of that color red being so prominent in their strike signs, tee shirts and paraphenalia.
When I looked up the symbolism of red in politics I was directed by many sites to “red flag” the most detailed by far and that which was not a personal blog was that of Wikipedia (I know it’s considered a skeptical source, but it also provides some great citation sources to verify). So using this information here’s just a brief clip of the information of “red flag”:
In politics, a red flag is a symbol of Socialism, or Communism, or sometimes left-wing politics in general. It has been associated with left-wing politics since the French Revolution.[1] Socialists adopted the symbol during the Revolutions of 1848 and it became a symbol of communism as a result of its use by the Paris Commune of 1871.[2] The flags of several communist states, including China, Vietnam and the Soviet Union, are explicitly based on the original red flag. The red flag is also used as a symbol by some democratic socialists and social democrats, for example the Avami National Party (Pakistan), French Socialist Party and the Social Democratic Party of Germany. The Labour Party in Britain used it until the late 1980s. It was the inspiration for the socialist anthem, The Red Flag. Also While red is the color most associated with love, it also the color most frequently associated with hatred, anger, aggression and war. People who are angry are said to “see red.” Red is the color most commonly associated with passion and heat. In ancient times red was the color of Mars, the god of War- the planet Mars was named for him because of its red color.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_flag
The teachers and union members in Chicago may not be waving a red flag per se, but they are waving red banners and behaving like the true socialists their agendas call for. Part of that behavior is the fact that another big significant difference from 1987 is they were smarter this time around by enlisting the youth and some of the parents of the youth in their agenda. 1987 the parents and students actually held rallies opposing the teacher’s strike, many times just across the picket line of the teachers. Mayor Harold Washington at the time did the exact same thing as Mayor Emanuel did, skipped town at the beginning of negoations. Washington choosing to attend a Japanese junket, Emanuel the DNC convention.
In an article from from The New York Times, dated October 02, 1987:
Mayor Washington stated: ”Parent pressure had a big role to play in resolving the strike.”
He said his staff had ”worked without stop” to resolve the dispute. Early in the strike, Mayor Washington had been criticized by parents and teachers for not getting involved in negotiations, as past Chicago Mayors had. ‘Excessive Zeal and No Brains’
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/04/us/chicago-teachers-reach-accord-in-4-week-strike.html?src=pm
Ironically Mayor Emanuel was criticised for attending the Democratic National Convention, but upon his return and jumping into the negotiations personally, he is taking a pummeling verbally by the union and teachers. Yet he’s still in the negoations and is reluctant to use legislative authority to force an end to the strike at this moment in time:
“But Emanuel said he’s not ready to drop the legal equivalent of a nuclear bomb by challenging the legality of the strike before the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, or by going to court to seek an injunction to force an end to the walkout.
“I believe we should work it through at the table, that’s why our team is there, and working through all those issues,” Emanuel said after Wednesday’s City Council meeting.” Source is CBS Chicago news September 12, 2012. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/09/12/mayor-not-prepared-to-file-legal-challenge-to-teachers-strike/
This will hopefully end soon for the students of Chicago Public schools and they can get back into the classroom where they belong. The point though of this posting was about the climate that is so prevasive in the city of Chicago and the surrounding counties, socialism is seeping in and it’s not trickling but tricking those of you that hold the values of republicanism so dear and true to heart are not paying attention! This strike not only demostrated the incredible power the union exerts over a populace at large but also how their value (socialism) can spread faster than a virus in a short time frame. 25 years is not a long time folks, nor is it short but for a land that is very pugnacious about it’s politics and parties, in another 25 years may have no choice or voice in the matter! We’ll all be…socialists in the great socialistic state of Illinois, to come soon to surrounding states.
Final thought: If they behave this way with demanding what they want and blatantly advertise their socialistic agenda, what then are they teaching your children on matters of the world in social studies and history behind closed doors of the classroom…Food for thought.
If you have the chance, this is a great source to look back and compare the two strikes if you so desire: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/video/7705798-a-look-back-at-1987-chicago-teachers-strike/
*Note, yes I’m aware that the 1987 photos are in black and white, those are the only ones at this time I could find on the internet. Yet you should still be able to see the difference in demeanor and professionalism.
1987 CPS Teachers strike image
2012 Striking CPS Teachers waving their red banners and flags.
1987 CPS Teacher’s strike with professionalism in appearance and signage
2012 CPS Teachers strike in true socialistic style and reinforced with recruited youth and parents.
*Photos are all courtesy of various news sources on internet and http://galleries.apps.chicagotribune.com/chi-120907-teachers-union-strike-public-schools-pictures/
It was brought to my attention by a fellow blog writer that there are those that knew very well what the color red represented in this strike movement. You can form your own opinion after viewing this video.
How many other cities will follow suit in other states, and show their true RED?
